Universal Digital Destinations (Metaverse)

[salismetho]

Well... somehow Universal is still going through with this.

(Didn't know exactly where to put this thread so mods feel free to move)

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Read the room guys.

 

[Nick]

Half of what i'm seeing on that list is crap (the work related stuff) and the other half is what i'd call things they can actually make money on - VR Games, experiences, upcharges in-game, shows, etc as it says in the second paragraph. A LOT of kids own Meta Quest devices for example. Imagine how well a simple Minions game, potentially a simple port of Minion Rush, would sell with 20 Million people owning a Quest device and the just released PSVR2 now out there. Other mobile games have ported to VR to great success.

I can certainly see how that stuff can be profitable for them. The work room related stuff is where they are throwing money into the fire.

 

[Nico]

I wonder if they’ll pick up anyone from Disney’s layoffs.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Half of what i'm seeing on that list is crap (the work related stuff) and the other half is what i'd call things they can actually make money on - VR Games, experiences, upcharges in-game, shows, etc as it says in the second paragraph. A LOT of kids own Meta Quest devices for example. Imagine how well a simple Minions game, potentially a simple port of Minion Rush, would sell with 20 Million people owning a Quest device and the just released PSVR2 now out there. Other mobile games have ported to VR to great success.

I can certainly see how that stuff can be profitable for them. The work room related stuff is where they are throwing money into the fire.

Nothing in that listing mentions VR.

 

[Nick]

Nothing in that listing mentions VR.

It literally lists games, experiences, virtual rides, and all of that. Games are not going to be a workplace thing and neither are Virtual rides. The headset Meta sells for the "Metaverse" IS Virtual Reality. You have to put a VR headset on to be in the Metaverse.

Again, the confusion around the Metaverse is amazing to me. Meta really screwed that up big time.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

It literally lists games, experiences, virtual rides, and all of that. Games are not going to be a workplace thing and neither are Virtual rides. The headset Meta sells for the "Metaverse" IS Virtual Reality. You have to put a VR headset on to be in the Metaverse.

Again, the confusion around the Metaverse is amazing to me. Meta really screwed that up big time.

And I'm looking at the digital infrastructure section which lists blockchain/Web 3 terms to describe the business unit. If UOR wanted to do a Meta Quest experience they'd partner with a game company, instead, they want to have an integral business relationship in the post-boom crypto/Web3 world. The metaverse requires it, otherwise, it's just a fancy app launcher, a Nintendo Wii in 4K VR.

 

[Nick]

And I'm looking at the digital infrastructure section which lists blockchain/Web 3 terms to describe the business unit. If UOR wanted to do a Meta Quest experience they'd partner with a game company, instead, they want to have an integral business relationship in the post-boom crypto/Web3 world. The metaverse requires it, otherwise, it's just a fancy app launcher, a Nintendo Wii in 4K VR.

I mean, I don't really care too much, I just find it slightly hard to believe they're going to do the things listed such as games, experiences, virtual rides, and other stuff and for it to be restricted to the Metaverse (which I contend is like throwing money into a fire) instead of simply making a fairly cheap product to throw out into a VR store whether it's Steam, Meta, PSVR2, etc and have a much more reliable way of making money than hoping the Metaverse works out.

If we're being honest, the Metaverse is still about 10 years away from being a thing that is actually functional for work purposes and it'll be with AR glasses that are minimally intrusive rather than a giant VR headset. Android and Google are actually working on what sounds like a next gen Google Glass to compete in the Metaverse race, which is what people will be more willing to accept since those were very minimally intrusive.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Love how Universal focuses on working on any other form of entertainment that doesn't involve putting something into the Toon Lagoon/Fear Factor theaters...


Anyway, being serious, theme park games/experiences that are not "tycoon" games are not that popular and have very low retention. The "experience" is just like watching a YouTube video, the only difference being you can ride them "together" with friends. Not saying it won't be a great idea, it just won't be as popular as they might think it would be.

This smells like Comcast knows the metaverse is a risky investment and is using the profits from the parks to fund it without affecting the rest of the business. Pulling a Disney essentially by having the parks be the funding source for other divisions.

 

[Nick]

Love how Universal focuses on working on any other form of entertainment that doesn't involve putting something into the Toon Lagoon/Fear Factor theaters...


Anyway, being serious, theme park games/experiences that are not "tycoon" games are not that popular and have very low retention. The "experience" is just like watching a YouTube video, the only difference being you can ride them "together" with friends. Not saying it won't be a great idea, it just won't be as popular as they might think it would be.

This smells like Comcast knows the metaverse is a risky investment and is using the profits from the parks to fund it without affecting the rest of the business. Pulling a Disney essentially by having the parks be the funding source for other divisions.

Currently on Meta Quest, they already have experiences on there where you can "ride" Back To The Future and HRRR. I imagine that the experiences will be similar to those. Possibly allowing you to experience attractions that are extinct or are in-house IPs. I could see them doing Jaws, Kongfrontation, things like that.

And you're right, those do have low retention, but they are also incredibly cheap and they help to promote the Universal Parks brand. I've done the BTTF one and having never ridden BTTF in real life, it was really cool to experience that ride in VR as if I was actuaally in the RV and on the ride.

I honestly can't imagine they are investing too much money into this, probably just some cheap stuff here and there to promote the parks and as I said, potentially, depending on how things go and how they feel about it, potentially a game that they can port over to VR for cheap using a third party game studio that specializes in ports (potentially Armature Studios who brought Resident Evil 4 to VR) and make money that way.

 

[GA-MBIT]

It literally lists games, experiences, virtual rides, and all of that. Games are not going to be a workplace thing and neither are Virtual rides. The headset Meta sells for the "Metaverse" IS Virtual Reality. You have to put a VR headset on to be in the Metaverse.

Again, the confusion around the Metaverse is amazing to me. Meta really screwed that up big time.

It's cause there is no true definition. It's just a buzzword that people throw around to describe everything from Animal Crossing: New Horizons to a hypothetical Holodeck. I don't think the "Metaverse" will ever materialize into a real thing. AR might have some uses eventually, and VR might find a niche market, but largely none of these things excite people or even work in the way a lot of developers thought they would.

All of that said, I'd be way into more Theme Park brands preserving their defunct attractions via VR for historical purposes. I believe that was the original intent behind Defunctland actually haha.

 

[Nick]

It's cause there is no true definition. It's just a buzzword that people throw around to describe everything from Animal Crossing: New Horizons to a hypothetical Holodeck. I don't think the "Metaverse" will ever materialize into a real thing. AR might have some uses eventually, and VR might find a niche market, but largely none of these things excite people or even work in the way a lot of developers thought they would.

All of that said, I'd be way into more Theme Park brands preserving their defunct attractions via VR for historical purposes. I believe that was the original intent behind Defunctland actually haha.

Yeah, exactly. Zuck has ruined the Metaverse by confusing everyone on what it is and all other companies are just following suit in using the word because it’s synonymous with VR and/or AR technology.

If his idea of the Metaverse ever happens, it’s not until about a decade out.

 

[GA-MBIT]

It's funny because I remember hearing about digital landlords and "cyberspace" worlds where you can live and work back in 2000s in regards to Second Life, which still exists and hasn't revolutionized the way we live our lives very much at all. If Grandma can't run Meta Worlds or whatever on her malware infested 2008 Windows 7 computer, the mass adoption thing is not going to happen. I think Zuckerburg and Meta have a very rocky road ahead of them, and I think Web 2.0 is here to stay for a long while.

 

[Nick]

It's funny because I remember hearing about digital landlords and "cyberspace" worlds where you can live and work back in 2000s in regards to Second Life, which still exists and hasn't revolutionized the way we live our lives very much at all. If Grandma can't run Meta Worlds or whatever on her malware infested 2008 Windows 7 computer, the mass adoption thing is not going to happen. I think Zuckerburg and Meta have a very rocky road ahead of them, and I think Web 2.0 is here to stay for a long while.

The evolution of Second Life is VRChat. VRChat at its best is is an incredibly innovative VR platform that allows users to create whatever they want. Essentially what Meta wants Horizon Worlds to be but it actually has an active user base and it’s good. So many great worlds, games, and great ways to socialize. There’s even public speaking classes in VRChat for people who have social anxiety to help get more comfortable talking to random strangers.

At its worst, if you fall into the wrong world, VR Chat can be a rather annoying place filled with minors, trolls, racists, among other things.

However, the open platform and non censored nature of it allows for a “make your own experience” which is something you don’t get much of these days. Wanna step into a Blockbuster or K-Mart? Do it. Wanna do a free user-created escape room? Go ahead. Or just wanna chill under the northern lights, you can do that too. Pretty much anything you can think of is a thing in VRChat, you just have to find it or build it yourself.

 

[GA-MBIT]

VRChat is very fun, and also feels like something that would be quickly snuffed out if enough corporations thought there was money to be made there. The avatars, worlds, custom built game mechanics based on IP that give the game so much life and energy would be smushed into a bland slog of heavily monitored and monetized worlds based on those IP by the IP holders themselves. Imagine if in order to dress as Winnie the Pooh or Spider-Man or Master Chief in VRChat you had to pay $20 in VRBucks for the Winnie the Pooh skin the same way you do in Fortnite. The freedom and wild west energy that the game currently has, which honestly itself feels a lot like Web 1.0, would suddenly be gentrified into basically the bad Disney.go.com scene from Wreck It Ralph 2.

Would there still be fun stuff to do and interesting worlds to work with? Yeah, but I do feel like quite a bit of the magic would be lost if it got too much bigger than it is now. The current best example of the "Metaverse" is only that successful because it hasn't gotten as big as Fortnite or Minecraft, or Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.

 

[Nick]

VRChat is very fun, and also feels like something that would be quickly snuffed out if enough corporations thought there was money to be made there. The avatars, worlds, custom built game mechanics based on IP that give the game so much life and energy would be smushed into a bland slog of heavily monitored and monetized worlds based on those IP by the IP holders themselves. Imagine if in order to dress as Winnie the Pooh or Spider-Man or Master Chief in VRChat you had to pay $20 in VRBucks for the Winnie the Pooh skin the same way you do in Fortnite. The freedom and wild west energy that the game currently has, which honestly itself feels a lot like Web 1.0, would suddenly be gentrified into basically the bad Disney.go.com scene from Wreck It Ralph 2.

Would there still be fun stuff to do and interesting worlds to work with? Yeah, but I do feel like quite a bit of the magic would be lost if it got too much bigger than it is now.

Unfortunately, I definitely agree wholeheartedly. I'm honestly surprised IP holders haven't cracked down yet. That day will come eventually and people aren't going to be happy. The fact that Playstation has been unwilling to platform VRChat on either PSVR or PSVR2 shows the corporate anxiety around the game right there. It's the most popular VR app and they don't want to platform it because right now it's the wild west as you said. They can't control it. A large gaming corporation like Playstation will only platform it if there's money to be made as you're saying and there's limits on what can be done.

The current best example of the "Metaverse" is only that successful because it hasn't gotten as big as Fortnite or Minecraft, or Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.

I must be having a brain fart - i'm confused what you mean here.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I must be having a brain fart - i'm confused what you mean here.

VRChat is a big game, and I'd say definitely the most popular and successful "Metaverse" for whatever that terms actually means.

I see most people talking about the positives of the Metaverse and Web 3.0 comparing it to a lot of the things I mentioned before. They say it will be a new form of media, moving away from webpages and traditional social media, where entertainment, socialization, and work is baked together in a massive online environment. Facebook/Meta wants this to be the future of social media, and everyone is effectively in consensus that video games is the primary basis for this new form of media. I feel like a successful Metaverse in Zuckerburg's mind has to be at least on par with Facebook at its peak. Minecraft and Fortnite are also brought up often, and both have shops with in-game currencies and character skin packs and microtransactions aplenty.

But as said before, VRChat is kind of at the perfect goldilocks size where it's big enough to foster a good community and creator support, while being small enough to avoid the cease-and-desist letters. It can't get bigger, or it will inevitably fail. It's a misread from corporations on why people like online spaces, in the service of creating new avenues for revenue.

 

[Nick]

VRChat is a big game, and I'd say definitely the most popular and successful "Metaverse" for whatever that terms actually means.

I see most people talking about the positives of the Metaverse and Web 3.0 comparing it to a lot of the things I mentioned before. They say it will be a new form of media, moving away from webpages and traditional social media, where entertainment, socialization, and work is baked together in a massive online environment. Facebook/Meta wants this to be the future of social media, and everyone is effectively in consensus that video games is the primary basis for this new form of media. I feel like a successful Metaverse in Zuckerburg's mind has to be at least on par with Facebook at its peak. Minecraft and Fortnite are also brought up often, and both have shops with in-game currencies and character skin packs and microtransactions aplenty.

But as said before, VRChat is kind of at the perfect goldilocks size where it's big enough to foster a good community and creator support, while being small enough to avoid the cease-and-desist letters. It can't get bigger, or it will inevitably fail. It's a misread from corporations on why people like online spaces, in the service of creating new avenues for revenue.

Yeah it most certainly is. VRChat and Beat Saber

The Metaverse, as I believe the Zuck thinks of it as, is the future of how people work and communicate with each other. Even with the Meta Quest Pro though, it's not even close to where it needs to be for this to be achieved. With Apple entering the space soon along with Google, they may help direct the way in terms of where this whole thing is actually going. Where Apple goes, so does everyone else (at least in America). At least that's typically how things go over the past 20 years.

For Zuck's goal of this replacing the in house work computer, it needs a few main things: 1.) The device needs to be small (think Google Glass) and highly AR driven and 2.) It needs to see widespread adoption. If it doesn't have this than Zuck's plans (which imo are about a decade or so out) will never be achieved. What he basically is looking for (as he sees Facebooks days dwindling) is basically for his Quest business to grow to the point of being sold in bulk to lots of companies across the board and also to get high schools and colleges to buy them in bulk for wide adoption. Something like that gets more people using it for work and school and potentially then in turn gets people buying for recreational fun as well since they'll now have experience using these devices.

I doubt it will work the way he wants, but I do commend him for going all in on this tech though and believing in it. Probably to the point of foolishly believing, but you know, if Meta hadn't been investing so much money into this, Google, Apple, and Sony probably wouldn't all be developing or just having released a new headset.